After the death of their mother, Chris Bottoms adopted his little brother Ted, and Chris and his partner Mickey settle down to raise him. Through paperwork left by his mother, Chris learns his brother has a deeply troubled past.<br><br>During a Thanksgiving visit with Chris and Ted’s maternal grandparents, they find out Chris’s grandfather allowed his friends to abuse Ted, so Chris severs all ties with that side of his family.<br><br>Through his job at a hospital, Chris hears of a surgeon at the Mayo Clinic who has developed an ileostomy reversal technique that has proven successful in cases like his. When Chris enters the clinic for preliminary testing, he learns he is a good candidate for the procedure and schedules the first of two surgeries for the beginning of January. A visit from estranged relatives while he’s in the hospital leaves him wondering how many secrets one family can have.

Bottoms Out

“I’ll go,” Mickey said. “You go back to sleep, okay?”


“Thanks,” Chris said, and rolled over on his side to do just that. He was dimly aware of Mickey’s voice coming from Ted’s room; then the screams stopped, and he heard the sound of bare feet padding across the floor. Finally he felt Mickey crawl back in bed and snuggle up against him.


“Yeah. He’s all right now. Probably already asleep.”


Chris opened his eyes at five, a few minutes in advance of the alarm. He turned off the alarm and headed for the bathroom. When he was showered and shaved he dressed quietly in the walk-through closet, then slipped downstairs to the kitchen, where he grabbed an apple and a banana, both of which he ate on the way to work.Good thing I keep a toothbrush in my locker at the hospital, he thought. Bananas always leave my mouth feeling coated inside.


Chapter 14